Labor Day Weekend Box Office Craters With ‘Hitman’s Bodyguard’ Leading Weak Pack

Heading into what will be one of the worst Labor Day weekends in many years, Lionsgate’s “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” continued to protect its No. 1 position at the box office, bagging $2.4 million on Friday for a four-day weekend close to $12 million, followed by Warner’s “Annabelle: Creation” at $1.8 million for an estimated $7.7 million long weekend and The Weinstein Company’s “Wind River,” which blew in at $1.5 million for a possible $7.7 million weekend.

In a weekend with few newcomers, Weinstein’s “Tulip Fever” failed to bloom, trailing below already low expectations at No. 23 after Friday night’s receipts, with $358,000 on 765 screens in its debut frame. The medium-sized release could sputter to around $1.5 million total.

In all, the four-day holiday weekend is expected to total about $85 million, which is down about 30% from the same period in 2016.

That put the period love story behind even Sony’s 40th anniversary re-release of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” which earned $486,000, starting Saturday at No. 12.

In its second week of release, Weinstein’s animated “Leap!” was fourth among Friday earners, with $1.1 million and Bleecker Street’s Steven Soderbergh buddy heist film “Logan Lucky” coming in fifth with a $1 million haul in week three.

Entering its third week at No. 1, “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” cost an estimated $40 million to produce, and has earned a total of $56.6 million to date. It becomes the only summer film to hold the top spot for three consecutive weekends in a row.

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